Akdamar

The island of Akdamar in
Lake Van in Eastern
Anatolia is famous for its Armenian church. Churches have a significant place
in medieval Christianart. Churches came to
express, throughout centuries, the people's feelings and their endurance
in times of social disorder and political strife.

It will be possible to assess the aim for building the church of Akdamar
in a better way if we go back to the time of its construction (915-921
A.D). As a result of the occupation of Eastern
Anatolia by the Moslem Arab armies,
the period from the end of 7th century to the middle of the 9th century
has marked the stagnation of the Armenian art in the area. The settling
of some Arab Emirs in Armenian towns, their fights with Byzantine
armies, internal strives resulted in the impoverishment of local Armenian kingdoms. However, as Byzantine armies achieved
success in their battles with the Abbasids, the Armenian princes recouped
and consolidated their positions. The naming of Ashot Bagratuni of Bagradid
dynasty as Armenian prince in 862 by the Abbasid Khalif constituted a turning
point. Later, in 886, Ashot Bagratuni's nephew and namesake was given the
title of King Ashot I by the Abbasids.

With the ascension of Ashot I to the Armenian throne, a renaissance
was initiated in Armenian art by the Bagradid dynasty. During the 9th and
10th centuries, numerous churches were built. Rich feudal families started
repairing the churches and monasteries on their land. The Bagradid kingdom
consolidated its power but at the end of the 9th century they were unable
to keep all the Armenian dynasties under their control and found themselves
fighting against various feudal families. The Ardsruni princes from the
small kingdom of Vaspurakan emerged as the greatest rivals of the Bagradids.
The domain of the Ardsrunis, including the lands of their vassals, extended
from Mount Ararat in the north to the Lake of
Urmia in south-east.

When relations between Ardsrunis and Simbad, successor of Ashot I of
Bagradids deteriorated in a marked way, Prince Gagik of the Ardsrunis concluded
an agreement with the Abbasid ruler of Azerbaijan and received the crown
of kingdom in 908. Following this, the Abbasid Khalif Muktadir sent Gagik
a second crown.

After becoming king of Vaspurakan, Gagik embarked on a large scale construction
program, with emphasis on building churches and monasteries, in effect
competing against the Bagradid Kingdom. Among monuments built by Gagik,
the Church of Akdamar (Aght'amar) is the most famous one, having become
subject to various publications.

The church remained as a part of a monastic complex until the beginning of the 20th century, after which it was abandoned during World War I due to the fights along the Russian border and it was left in a bad condition for many years. The Turkish authorities restored the church between 2005-2007 and opened it as a museum. Recently in 2010, the government decided to open the church for religious ceremonies once a year which would be one day during the first half of September every year.

The name given to the island, Aght'amar, is explained by a well known
legend among local population: A nobleman who fell in love with a beautiful
girl named Tamar visited the island every night to see her. As he was crossing
the lake one stormy night, his boat capsized and fighting the waves, he
drowned uttering the words "Ach Tamar". Tamar, awaiting the arrival of
her loved one, grieved deeply upon hearing the news of his death and died
soon after. Hence, the island was called "Ach Tamar" (Aght'amar) ever since.

Historian Thomas Ardsruni describes in his book the coronation of King
Gagik I and the churches and palaces he built. According to Thomas Ardsruni,
Arab ruler Yusuf presented Gagik with a solid gold crown intricately embellished
with pearls and other precious gems, a gold embroidered kaftan, a gold
belt and sword, all in a ceremony in which Gagik, riding on a horse with
gilded harness, shone like the sun. In his work, Ardsruni describes in
great detail, the palace, the monastery, the church and the shops on the
island of Aght'amar saying that buildings, streets and gardens were planned
by Gagik himself. According to his description, there were orchards and
terraced parks within the fortifications on the island. The palace rose
like a hill in the center of the island and the glow of gilded cupolas
could be seen from far away. The frescoes adorning the walls of the main
audience hall portrayed the king sitting on the gilded throne, surrounded
by the elite of the palace, in conjunction with festivities, musicians,
dancing girls, sword clad soldiers, wrestlers, lions, wild beasts and various
colorful birds.

The fortifications, churches and palace buildings were completed within
the relatively short period of five years. Gagik assembled in Aght'amar
the best craftsmen and artisans of his time and supervised their work.
Presently, only foundations remain from this majestic palace whose grandeur
we can capture reading Thomas Ardsruni. The descriptions related to Aght'amar
Palace are reminiscent of palace decoration in Samarra where the Abbasid
Khalifs, with whom Gagik had friendly relations, kept their residence.

One could perhaps get an impression of the decoration of the Aght'amar
Palace from the wall paintings in the Javsak-ul Hakani Palace in Samarra,
north of Baghdad, built by the Abbasid Khalif in 839 A.D. to accommodate
his army of Turkish soldiers brought from Central Asia.

Plan and General Description of the Church

The Church of the Palace of Aght'amar was built by Architect Bishop Manuel
in 915-921 A.D. under the supervision of King Gagik I. He was also the
architect of the palace which no longer exists. The church which was dedicated
to the "Holy Cross" is situated in a prominent place on the island and
presents an impressive picture when approached from different directions.
The various shades of red of the tufaceous cut stone used in the construction
form a striking contrast with the deep blue waters of the lake and
the snow-capped majestic mountains in the background. However, the church
is more impressive with its figural relieves than its architecture. In fact, relieves blend perfectly with the architectural
forms, putting the accent on decorative elements in the exterior rather
than the interior.

The wall structure of the church is made of rectangular cut stones over
a two-tiered base, similar to the other Armenian works in the area. A tufaceous
mix was used as mortar between the stones. In order to diminish the weight
of the walls, the stones used in the upper layers are smaller than those
below. According to Thomas Ardsruni, the stones were brought from Aghznik,
north of Diyarbakir.

As a protective measure against earthquakes common in the area, stones
of different size were used along the same row, thus insuring better bond.
This technique common in Armenian works coupled with the colorful appearance
due to the different shades of tufaceous stones prevents monotony in the
facades.

The church has a four-lobed clover-like, cross-shaped plan with a central
dome. The domed central part has a square shape and is surrounded by four
niches with semi-domes, one of which serves as the apse. The vaulted spaces
in front of the eastern apse and the western entrance make the church longer
along this axis (width 11.60 m., length 14.80 m). Four additional niches
with semi-circular plan at each corner, between the exedrae serve to broaden
the central domed main hall. The niches at the eastern end lead to a small
rectangular cell on each side of the apse.

The dome covering the central hall rests on a high drum and transition
to the dome from the square hall is achieved by means of pendentives. The
exterior walls of the circular drum has the shape of a sixteen-sided polygon.
The pyramidal cone on top is reminiscent of Seljuk
gumbats (kümbet). This monumental central structure, rising vertically,
is a striking architectural form emphasizing externally the central plan
of the church. The height of the dome is 20.40 m. from ground level, exceeding
both the length and width of the building substantially. This comparison
underlines the architectural emphasis given to
the vertical dimension. Earlier descriptions suggest that there was a stone
cross on top of the conical roof. This would be quite a normal practice
in the case of a church dedicated to the Holy Cross. An inscription at
the southern facade informs us that the dome collapsed and was repaired.
However, there is no conclusive information as to when and by whom the
repair work was done. But all indications point to the period, at
the end of 13th century, when Stephanos III was the Catholics of the See
of Aght'amar. The exedrae surrounding the central hall have gable roofs.
The small round niches at the corners form protruding on the exterior
as either five of three-sided semi-polygons. Their cone-like covers have
a balancing effect on the straight planes of the gable roofs covering the
exedra. The interior of the church gets light through eight windows in
the drum and sixteen windows in the exedra and niches.

The southern, western and northern niches of the church each have a
two meter-high door. The southern entrance leads to the King's chamber.
Early descriptions indicate that the stone parapet was ornamented with
relieves of animal heads such as bulls, rams, goats and elephants among
branches of pomegranate trees. The silver door was adorned with precious
stones, pearls and gold encrustations.

A chapel was built in 1293 at the south-eastern end of the church and
was dedicated to Saint Stephanos. A few years later Catholicos Zacharias
I added a new chapel at the north-eastern end of the church (1296-1336).
The section in front of this chapel which serves as entrance to the church
must be from a later period. Catholicos Thomas built the large front section
or fore-church, at the main entrance in the west. The floor of this part
has been kept lower with four steps leading to the church proper. The front
section has a central dome surrounded by eight vaulted chambers. At the
end of the 18th century or early in the 19th century, a small belfry was
built at the southern entrance. All these later additions spoil the balance
and harmony of the original exterior and cover some of the original relieves
adorning the church itself.

A noteworthy characteristic of the Aght'amar Church is that the exedra
and niches surrounding the main hall are reflected on the exterior in the
form of polygonal walls. These many faceted walls, cut like crystals, create
an impressive and dynamic architectural effect further enhanced by the
bold relieves and varying colors of the cut stones used in the construction.
Differences are further emphasized by changing light which strike the surfaces
from different angles. As in Armenian architecture in general, the internal
plan of the building is not reflected on the exterior.

The plan of the Aght'amar Church was not new in Armenian
architecture.
This type of plan is known as the "Hrips'ime Type" in reference to the
earlier dated Hrips'ime church (618 A.D.) in Vagharshapat, present day Echmiadzin in the Republic of Armenia.
The Soradir Church of the Holy Cross at the Iranian border dated to circa
7th century A.D. is a similar example. An even earlier example is the Avan
Church in Erivan (557-574). Although the exteriors of these churches look
like Aght'amar, the figural relieves make Aght'amar distinctly different.
In fact Aght'amar is foremost famous for the rich figural relieves which
surround the exterior in bands or bordures and decorate the middle and
lower part of walls with sculpture-like large size figures. Other typical
features for Armenian architecture are blind niches with triangular interiors,
capped with figural relieves in round-arched bands and narrow, tall windows
with rounded arches. The windows are spread along the facades in an asymmetrical
way with lower windows being smaller and upper windows larger. The polygonal
mass of the church proper has been de-emphasized by windows with rounded
arch tops having eyebrow-like bordure bands above with foliate motifs and
vine branches.

The exterior with its rich figural relieves is in contrast with the relatively
simple interiors. The inner walls have remnants of wall paintings, mostly
disintegrated. They have been repaired during various periods.

Stone Relief

Compared to other Armenian churches, the stone relief decoration of Aght'amar
is original, in fact, unique. There is no other work comparable to Aght'amar
either before or after.

Bold relieves surround the building in various bands and at different
heights, sometimes erupting out of walls as sculpture, appearing at other
times as bordures enhancing the architecture.
They present a wide range of themes, ranging from religious subjects derived
from the Bible and the Old Testament
to worldly scenes such as palace life, hunting figures from daily life
and a variety of animals.

The figural relieves of Aght'amar are flat but they are cut in bold relief.
Thus, the figures appear as sculpture under the sun but become pale and
disappear in overcast and foggy weather. Due to this characteristic, Professor
M.S. Ipsiroglu refers to the church as a building of light and assumes
that the architect was influenced by the sun cult predominant in Iran during
the Sasanid Period between 3rd and 7th centuries A.D. when the teachings
of Zarathustra prevailed as the religion of the region.

The long faces and large eyes of the Aght'amar figures bear similarities
to those on the wall paintings and palace ceramics from the 9th-10th centuries
A.D. Abbasid Period. The eyes and certain details of the figures were ornamented
with colored gems in earlier times. Such decoration coupled with gilding
and painting with different colors must have made the relieves more striking
in those days. Such gems and paintings have not survived to our day.

It is interesting to note that religious subjects and figures related
to the Ardsrunis were rendered much bigger than other subjects, sometimes
threefold bigger. It appears that their importance and power were thus
emphasized. As no background has been used in such pictorial representations,
they are more striking and stand out from a distance. Palace life and scenes
from daily life etc. are presented in bands surrounding the building.

The relieves of Aght'amar have been interpreted by art
historians in different ways. It is possible to classify the relieves according
to their subject matter, their place on the walls and even the way they
are presented. Here, the relieves will be presented by going around the
building, starting from ground level. This classification can be considered
in four different levels. The lowest group has no links with the other
groups due to the fact that the iconographic program commonly used in religious
subjects has not been applied in this case. Another special feature of
the Church of Aght'amar is that subjects from the Old
Testament have been used alongside those from the Bible. Themes from
the Old Testament are not common
for Middle Age churches. Thus, Aght'amar is an exception rather than the
rule in this respect. It is remarkable that most of the relieves have survived
to our day without any restoration work.